Christmas is on its way!

The weather has been teasing me the last two mornings with a very light dusting of snow while I am outside with Bentley.  A smile spreads across my face and I start planning the snow adventure I am going to take Emmaline on once the ground is covered with the glittery white.  As I prepare breakfast, I eagerly take peeks out the window only to discover by lunch time there is no white outside.  :(  I will have to content myself with the "snow" or frost on the trees across the street and the dusting of snow I can see on the hills. 

 Being the second day of disappointment for no snow, I decided it was time to decorate a bit.  Just a few touches here and there to make the house feel warm and cheery.  Hopefully the Christmas tree will come in tonight and the nativity will be put up to complete the decor of the house. 

After emptying one box, I had one lonely sparkly snowflake without a home and decided Emmaline might like a little touch of Christmas in her room.  We walked into her room to find a place to hang it.  As I looked around, all her birthday cards hanging on her wall caught my eye.  I quickly thought, "I'll hang the snowflake and then I put her cards in a box."  (I didn't even go near them) Well, Emmaline walked over to her cards and began to point.  I spent the next 15 minutes reading her every one.  Put them away?  I guess I will wait a little longer.  Once Christmas cards start arriving regularly, I think I know what I will be doing every day! 

Playing catch up

There have been some big events in the last six weeks!  Let me fill you in!

1. We have a new member of the family.  No, I didn't not miraculously get pregnant and have a baby without anyone noticing.  We added a little white furball to our trio.
Meet Bentley!

Emmaline wasn't too sure about her new family member at first.  He jumped on her a lot.  There was a period of time when Bentley was also very fond of Emmaline's precious monkey.  A couple times, I found them in a tug of war with poor monkey.  That definitely didn't earn Bentley any points.  But now I find Emmaline following Bentley and vice versa.  They are pals.  Bentley even sits with Emmaline in the stroller when we go for a walk. 

2. Halloween - I wasn't sure how Emmaline was going to handle all the costumes.  One thing is for sure. I am going to need a dress up box.  She LOVED wearing her costume.  When we got home from trick or treating with a few friends, I put her costume back on and she wore it around the house for at least the next hour.  If I do say so myself, she made a pretty cute little fairy.

3. These boots were made for walking!
Emmaline has been teasing us for months with her walking skills.  I secretly wondered if she practicing walking when we weren't watching.  Anyone could see that she was SO balanced and strong.  I guess we have a cautious little girl.  Some evenings she would walk back and forth between Jeff and I.  I would think "Tomorrow will be the day!"  Yet when she would wake up, I'd get her out of her crib, and she would CRAWL over to her toys.  So finally the week before Thanksgiving she started walking a little every day.  A couple days before Thanksgiving, crawling was a think of the past.  Now Emmaline walks all over the house ALL day.  She is pretty good at taking off when it's time to change her diaper.

4.  Thanksgiving!
All four of us made our way across the state to spend Thanksgiving with my family.  My mom prepared a delicious meal and set a gorgeous table.  Our dinner menu included 2 turkeys (one cajun, and one regular), garlic mashed potatoes, herb stuffing, garlic brussel sprouts (yes, they were good!), delicious gravy, and to die for yam casserole.  Dessert menu included apple pie, pumpkin pie, vanilla ice cream, homemade whipped cream and chocolate cake.  Yes, chocolate cake.  Grandma's request for her 80th birthday!  Like all good Thanksgiving meals, I was so stuffed, I couldn't finish all my dessert. 

                                                                                     Helping Grammie cook!

5. O Christmas Tree!
Friday after Thanksgiving, keeping in tradition, we cut down our Christmas tree.  To everyone's surprise I was happy with the first tree Jeff picked - well his first serious selection.  Now I am anxiously waiting to decorate it for Christmas. 

                                                      Trying out Santa's chair!

                                            Bentley and Chloe as Mr. and Mrs. Clause

While we were on the west side, we visited my grandma.  Emmaline got to model my great grandpa's christening dress. She wasn't a big fan, but it was special to see her wear it and to hear about some family history.

Overall, it's been a lovely winter season so far! 

Fun, Friends and Pumpkins!

Last Saturday, in the spirit of Fall, Jeff, Emmaline and I visited the pumpkin patch.  There weren't too many pumpkins to pick from, but we each found one to take home. 

Monkey had to join in the fun too!

In the evening, we had a few friends over for pumpkin carving.  We enjoyed some yummy fall food - pumpkin bread, apples and caramel, hot apple cider and pumpkin coffee cake. Emmaline loved holding her pumpkin and getting in on the fun. 

She wasn't so big on touching the inside of the pumpkin though.

My finished project!

Everyone's pumpkins (in order)

Jeff, Elizabeth, Lee, Ana, Alexandra, Mikayla, Kasey, Jeremy

 

Some up close shots...

We had a blast!!  I think our pumpkins turned out pretty good too!

A Week of Celebrating

   A little over a year ago, I made a trip to Wenatchee and returned home with a precious little blessing.

2 days old

2 weeks old

We have watched Emmaline grow and change so much in the last year!

Valentine's Day

4 months old

8 months old

8 months old

And now she 1 year old! 

September 27 ~ Birthday dinner at Siam with family!
A balloon from cousin Emry, and necklaces and cards from cousins Maeha and Aehsley.

 When we got home, Emmaline got to open her present from Mommy and Daddy.  Do you think she liked it?

  

 October 1 ~ Birthday party with family

My whole family made the trip across the state for the occasion!  

(My parents, grandparents, brother, his girlfriend, and my aunt and uncle ~ 

They were a huge help in getting everything ready for the party.)

Cake, cupcakes, flowers and balloons!

 

Right before we had enjoyed watching Emmaline not eat her cake, we had a little entertainment provided by Anya and Camryn.  They did a fabulous job for it being a first performance!  Emmaline didn't like being left out of the fun.  She loves helping me play the piano.

Then it was time for cake.  Emmaline took quite a bit of convincing to sit in her high chair.

And even then she was not a fan of her cake ~ at first.

She eventually ate a few bites with the aid of a spoon and mommy, 

but in the end she preferred her green beans.

In all the excitement, I didn't end up taking hardly any pictures.  A few days after her party, I dressed Emmaline in her birthday outfit for a photo shoot.

 

  

 

 

Happy birthday my little sweet pea!